EVIL RISING AGAIN!-Chapter 11: The Dance of Predators

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Chapter 11: The Dance of Predators

The following morning dawned with a stillness that felt unnatural. The air was heavy, the sky painted in bruised hues as if the world itself sensed a coming collision.

Tian Mo stood in front of the mirror, shirtless, observing the faint, violet patterns pulsing just beneath his skin. His corrupted Qi was coiling tighter with each breath, seeking a path into the next stage. But he wasn't ready to ascend just yet—not without a proper foundation.

He needed a catalyst. A battle. Blood.

And Cain would provide it.

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At school, the atmosphere had changed. Subtly, but undeniably. Students were quieter, teachers more distracted. Everyone seemed on edge.

Except for Cain.

He sat near the back of the classroom, always smiling, always silent. He didn't speak unless spoken to. Yet his aura spoke volumes—a pressure that bent the air around him and made weaker minds twitch unconsciously.

Tian Mo, however, was unaffected.

He'd met monsters far worse.

During lunch, Anna leaned on his arm, the mark of the Soul Lock Ring glowing faintly beneath her choker. Her touch was constant now, like she couldn't bear to be apart for even a second.

"Something feels off today," she said quietly.

"It does," Tian Mo agreed. "Stay close."

Cain approached their table without a word, tray in hand. He sat across from them, placing his food down with eerie precision.

"Anna," he said suddenly, voice soft and pleasant, "you look radiant."

She stiffened but nodded politely.

Cain's crimson gaze turned to Tian Mo.

"You have power," he said simply.

Tian Mo smiled. "And you hide yours poorly."

Cain's lips curved into a grin. "Then shall we stop pretending?"

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That night, they met in the abandoned industrial park on the outskirts of the city. Empty warehouses, rusted machinery, and shattered glass made the perfect hunting ground.

Tian Mo walked alone through the crumbling hall, his corrupted Qi swirling in tendrils of shadow behind him. The Soul Lock Ring pulsed in response to his rising bloodlust.

Cain stood at the center of a wide, cracked courtyard. His jacket was gone, shirt torn open to reveal his own spiritual tattoos—sigils written in an ancient, long-forgotten tongue.

"Your kind were purged long ago," Cain said, his voice no longer polite. "The Circle ensures order. Your existence... is disorder incarnate."

"I am evolution," Tian Mo replied coldly. "You cling to decayed traditions. I forge a new law."

Cain's shadow writhed. From it, six ghostly arms erupted, each holding a weapon forged of spectral flame.

Tian Mo didn't flinch. "Good. You'll make a fine offering."

They moved.

Faster than the eye could follow.

Clashing in the center, their Qi exploded outward in shockwaves, shattering windows and splitting concrete. Cain's blades slashed in beautiful, deadly arcs—each one designed to sever a soul's anchor.

But Tian Mo danced around them, a predator born of chaos and cruelty. His counterattacks were vicious—dripping with demonic Qi that corroded steel and space alike.

Blow after blow, strike after strike.

The battle stretched for minutes, then an hour, each fighter pushing beyond mortal limits. Cain began to falter—his moves slower, his spiritual tattoos cracking.

Tian Mo struck a final blow.

Fist to the chest.

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Corrupted Qi surged through Cain's heart.

He screamed, the sound half-human, half-eldritch, before his body exploded into a cloud of black smoke.

A soul fragment remained, struggling to flee.

Tian Mo raised his hand.

The Soul Lock Ring ignited with violet light, pulling the fragment into its core.

Cain was no more.

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Back at his sanctum, Tian Mo sat cross-legged before the altar. The soul fragment from Cain floated within the ring, vibrating with residual power.

With a deep breath, Tian Mo inhaled it.

His body trembled as power surged.

And then—

Breakthrough.

Stage Three: Foundation Building.

His bones hardened, organs shifted, and his soul anchor formed—glowing deep within his core like a demonic sun.

He exhaled.

Lightning crackled briefly across his skin.

When he opened his eyes, they gleamed like molten amethyst.

Tian Mo stood.

And the world around him seemed to shrink.

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Far away, in a cathedral-like chamber hidden beneath the Swiss Alps, eleven cloaked figures stood around a flaming map.

"Whisper #34 has failed," one said.

Another replied, "The target has entered Foundation Building."

Silence reigned.

Until the leader raised his hand. "Send the Harbinger."

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